Polymeric dyes are widely disclosed in the literature. Of particular importance is their use as food colorings and in the bulk and surface coloring of plastic objects and textile fibers. Their use as hair dyes, as tinting agents in paper manufacture, and in imaging systems as sensitizing agents is known in the art.
Kokai No. JA59-45195, laid open Mar. 13, 1984, discloses hydrocarbon backbone polymers with pendent chromophores, e.g., azo, anthraquinone, indigoid, cyanine, etc. Polymers are thermoplastic and film-forming, and are useful as thin coated layers for deformation optical recording.
Kokai No. JA59-62188, laid open Apr. 9, 1984, discloses various polymer backbones, e.g., polyester, polyurethane, polyamide, vinyl polymers, etc., with pendent phthalocyanine (preferably metal) chromophores. Polymers are thermoplastic and film-forming, and useful as thin coated layers for deformation optical recording.
Representative of polymeric dyes for food colorings are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,240. Here pendent chromophore groups such as anthraquinones, azo dye moieties, etc., are linked at intervals to a hydrocarbon polymer backbone through nitrogen atoms which may be in the backbone or pendent from it. Solubility in aqueous systems is frequently a requirement of such food colorings and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,233,328 and 4,169,203 disclose such polymeric dyes.
Polymeric dyes used in dyeing textiles and coloring textile polymers in bulk are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,232,691. These are derived from acrylate or methacrylate monomers with pendent chromophore groups of azo, anthraquinone, or triarylmethane dye moieties.
Hair dying compositions containing polymer dyes are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,182,612 and 4,228,259. These dyes have polyethyleneimine type backbones with chromophores such as azo, anthraquinone, etc., pendent from the backbone nitrogen atoms. Graft copolymerized pigments for use as fillers in paper making are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,292.
In silver halide photography polymeric color couplers derived from ethylenically-unsaturated monomers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,367,282. Polymeric color couplers are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,743,503 as developable coloring agents in electrographic toners.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,012 discloses photochromic cyclic polyimides for optical recording.